Maciej Fita has always shown his passion for marketing and branding. Since his attempts to start his personal skateboard company when he was six years old, he has always pushed endlessly to make his entrepreneurial dreams come true.
After working for different brands, Maciej Fita co-founded Boston Knucklehead Clothing in 2008, showcasing the signature fire and energy of Boston culture to a wider audience. The company has eventually grown to become “one of Boston’s most influential and unique brands ever to hit the streets.”
Then, in 2010, Maciej Fita ventured on his own to found Brandignity.com, a digital marketing agency that aims to support companies who want to achieve their business goals through online marketing.
At Brandignity, Maciej Fita and his team approach their SEO campaigns from the perspective of marketing. He believes that neglecting this approach would make SEO ineffective. So, to help businesses out in today’s online marketplace, Brandignity wants to approach business challenges with a combination of modern solutions and conventional thinking.
Maciej Fita understands that consumer buying behaviors and search engines are always evolving. To keep up with this evolution, his company needs to deploy a “more comprehensive web marketing approach.” With this approach, Brandignity employs a full array of online marketing techniques, from “ethical SEO, web design, social media and more.” Companies who link up with Brandignity are sure to make a mark on their audiences by leaving “a wide digital footprint.”
Check out more in-depth conversations with business visionaries here.
Jerome Knyszewski: What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Maciej Fita: I think our transparency makes us standout. SEO companies can sometimes get a bad rap. Often times people don’t know what they’re paying for and what they’re getting with SEO. Our clients know everything that is happening before it happens. With digital marketing, it’s important that clients have tangibles.
Jerome Knyszewski: Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Maciej Fita: If you can’t hire staff right away find great partners to work with. Don’t try and do everything yourself. That’s a sure-fire way to get burnt out. Plus, you can’t know everything.
Jerome Knyszewski: None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Maciej Fita: The owner of the agency I worked at prior was like a mentor. He really taught me quite a lot when it comes to SEO and digital marketing as a whole. I had some amazing real-world experience.
Jerome Knyszewski: Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. The Pandemic has changed many aspects of all of our lives. One of them is the fact that so many of us have gotten used to shopping almost exclusively online. Can you share a few examples of different ideas that eCommerce businesses are implementing to adapt to the new realities created by the Pandemic?
Maciej Fita: I think it is more along the lines of encouraging people that shopping online is “safer”. Marketing direction had to pivot. There is this new focus being leveraged on staying home and shopping on your computer. It’s all about safer options and eCommerce has exploded these last few months.
Jerome Knyszewski: Amazon, and even Walmart are going to exert pressure on all of retail for the foreseeable future. New Direct-To-Consumer companies based in China are emerging that offer prices that are much cheaper than US and European brands. What would you advise retail companies and eCommerce companies, for them to be successful in the face of such strong competition?
Maciej Fita: The fact is many will have a hard time competing. We will start to see a price war if retailers are forced to start closing their doors but higher-end boutiques and retailers will feel the pinch. Many won’t be able to slash their costs to Amazon and Walmart levels. If companies and retailers haven’t done anything with ecommerce they’re going to be a bit behind. An ecommerce component is a must to survive this period during COVID. Even if they’re late to the party they still need to show up.
Jerome Knyszewski: What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start an eCommerce business? What can be done to avoid those errors?
Maciej Fita: Thinking that if you simply build it, they will come. Those days are over. Many do not realize just how much effort you have to put into marketing driving traffic to any website. If Walmart couldn’t keep Jet up and running that just shows the hill you have to climb when launching an eCommerce business. Have a strategy in place for website traffic. Don’t forget, paid ads are expensive so you have to have a multi-pronged approach in place.
Jerome Knyszewski: In your experience, which aspect of running an eCommerce brand tends to be most underestimated? Can you explain or give an example?
Maciej Fita: I think of turning over inventory. I see it a lot with clothing businesses. You have to turn over inventory and add new fresh products all the time. Often times you’re stuck with a bunch of last year’s clothing items and sometimes even putting them on sale section doesn’t work.
Jerome Knyszewski: Of course, the main way to increase conversion rates is to create a trusted and beloved brand. Can you share a few ways that an eCommerce business can earn a reputation as a trusted and beloved brand?
Maciej Fita: Community! Brands like Bombas that give back to the community with every sale show the world they care. People like that. Not only do they like it, but they talk about with their friends causing word of mouth action.
Jerome Knyszewski: One of the main benefits of shopping online is the ability to read reviews. Consumers love it! While good reviews are of course positive for a brand, poor reviews can be very damaging. In your experience what are a few things a brand should do to properly and effectively respond to poor reviews? How about other unfair things said online about a brand?
Maciej Fita: It is tough to fight this. No matter how great you are some people will always be unhappy. If you have the opportunity to respond do it kindly. Try offering something to make it right.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Maciej Fita: My agency’s website is brandignity.com.
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
